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EskoArtwork broadens sign, display presence

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Press release from the issuing company

Vandalia, OH (USA) -- EskoArtwork announces that its North American sign and display division, formed when EskoArtwork acquired Mikkelsen Graphic Engineering, Inc. (MGE), has successfully been integrated within the US EskoArtwork organization.

The group has recently expanded its Lake Geneva, Wisconsin office with a new area completely devoted to a demo facility, material testing area for customers, and a finishing competence center. This group continues to represent sales of Esko Kongsberg XP, i-XL and i-XE digital converting tables and supporting software and expands EskoArtwork’s industry reach from commercial print and packaging to include serving companies producing signs and wide format displays

MGE is the developer of the patented i-cut® vision system. The new i-cut® 7.0 takes print material specifications from the work stream, including cutting keys that supply operators with optimized tool settings and blade/bit recommendations. MGE’s i-script™ workflow has become the de-facto international standard through its integration into the RIPs of all major digital flatbed presses. MGE had also been EskoArtwork’s distributor for the Kongsberg i-XL and i-XE digital converting tables into the US sign & display markets since 2004. With the addition of MGE’s advanced technology, EskoArtwork is the industry reference in vision controlled finishing solutions for cutting tables for sign making, screen-printing and digital printing.

Extended sign & display demo capabilities

The new demo facility in Lake Geneva clearly shows EskoArtwork’s commitment to providing solutions of value to the sign and display market. The demo area holds the full representative range of Kongsberg digital finishing tables for the sign and display industry: a new Kongsberg XP 44 table for 24/7 production environments, the Kongsberg i-XL 24 large format digital flatbed cutting table and two Kongsberg i-XE series automated digital finishing systems for signs and display—the Kongsberg i-XE 10 and i-XE 32.

EskoArtwork will use the center for product demonstrations. Customers are invited to bring or to send substrates and structural files in advance of a demonstration. In doing so, EskoArtwork will demonstrate the best tools appropriate to finish the customer’s substrates. In addition to product demos, the area will also be used as a testing facility to provide samples of customer’s materials finished on the tables. EskoArtwork will produce real-life samples created and generated from customer data and materials. The facility will also be used as a competence center, where EskoArtwork can test new substrates developed for signs and digital displays.

“We are excited about the added sign and display expertise the MGE team brings to EskoArtwork,” comments Don Skenderian, EskoArtwork Vice President, Market Development CAD/CAM. “Their expertise, along with the resources of the new demo facility, will allow us to evaluate the business and technical needs of the sign and display companies, and to verify that the solutions we propose will fulfill these needs. We believe it’s a ‘sign’ of things to come from our newly combined strong entity.”